The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson

Ah, my favorite time period... the birth of the twentieth century, when the world moved from outward pretentiousness amid urban decay to narcissism and urban gentrification...and nothing is really different...
Larson details the creation, planning and execution of the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago, the fable White City. This gleaming utopia, completed against all odds, is wonderfully counterpointed with the Black City - Chicago itself. It's great to see the veneer of Victorian politeness, forced courtesies, and caste bickering cracking under the pressure of the labor movement, the filth in the streets, the blight of urban decay. I love Chicago as it is now...but I love this Chicago more: sewage seeping up through rough pavement, dead, bloated horses and cats floating downriver to the city's drinking water intake in Lake Michigan, kidnappings, murders... the kind of thing that may all seem overdone in fiction, real, real, all of it real!
Follow architect Daniel Burnham through personal tragedy and professional triumph. Marvel at Mr. Mudgett a.k.a. H.H. Holmes, the prototype of the 20th century sociopath. The man was a killing machine. The transient nature of the beauty of the fair is almost heartbreaking...a flash of American brilliance that fell just as the economy prepared to boom and bust, and the world went to war. A must read!

Fun things: The Columbian Exposition brought us Juicy Fruit, Shredded Wheat, the Ferris Wheel, Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer (It actually WON a prize! Can you imagine?), and Aunt Jemima Pancake Mix.